Casting from Chrome just got a big improvement. Google Cast is stepping out of the shadowy realm of browser extensions and getting fully integrated into Chrome. No more digging through menus to stream straight from your browser to your TV.
Announced on the Chrome Blog this morning, the integration of Google Cast into the Chrome browser might not sound like a big deal – after all, Cast functionality has been available for around two years if you grabbed the extension from the Chrome Store. By integrating Cast into Chrome without any additional downloads or tweaking though, Google has taken a step toward making your web browser the hub for your entire entertainment system.
Any website that can stream to your TV, speakers, or other Cast ready peripherals will display a little icon on the right hand side of your address bar. Just click it, tell Chrome where to stream the content, and it’ll get started all on its own.
Supported pages include some of the most popular streaming services like Netflix, YouTube, and of course the full spectrum of Google Play services. Visiting a page that doesn’t support direct Google Cast streaming? No problem. Just click the menu button, go down and click “Cast” and Chrome will stream a live version of whichever website you’re currently viewing.
According to the Chrome Blog, the Google Cast integration also includes some much-needed upgrades to overall quality when streaming from Chrome, with the majority of streams coming through in HD.
Google Cast came out two years ago, and according to the Chrome Blog it’s become wildly popular. Users have reportedly streamed over 50 million hours of video and audio content since release – that’s an awful lot of cat videos.
Naturally, you’ll need to make sure your TV or sound setup is compatible with Google Cast. If you’ve got a Chromecast, no worries there. But if you’re still not sure, you can either just fire up Chrome and see if your smart TV shows up or check out the official compatibility list here.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.